Good afternoon!
My name is Natalia Ksenofontova, and I am the mother of a wonderful boy, Denis Postolsky.
I still remember that day well — 3 September 2006 the day I first held my son in my arms. Deniska — a long-awaited and long-awaited child in our family. Words cannot describe the emotions you feel when you hear your son's first cry, when you hold him to your chest for the first time...
Deniska grew up a healthy and active child. Time flew by — first steps, first rhymes, kindergarten, the first bell...
Now Denis is 14 years old. He grew up to be a sweet, cheerful boy, doing well in school, with his own dreams and plans for the future. He loves sports, as he dreams of becoming a police officer when he grows up, and that requires strength and courage.
Nothing foreshadowed trouble until the day Denis woke up with swelling in his face and neck. We went to the doctor, who prescribed allergy medication. The swelling went down, but it turned out the worst was yet to come...
The boy had noticeably lost weight, become pale, and lost his appetite, so we went back to the doctor. A chest X-ray showed that, for unknown reasons, about three liters of fluid had accumulated in his lungs. For over two months, they were unable to diagnose our son's condition. Apparently, they performed the wrong tests and examinations, as we were initially admitted to the Odessa Regional Children's Hospital, to the tuberculosis dispensary, where he was treated for tuberculosis for over a month.
The treatment was ineffective, fluid continued to accumulate in his lungs, and my son began having frequent asthma attacks due to an enlarged cervical lymph node, which was subsequently removed. After the surgery, we were referred to the pediatric hematology department. After Denis underwent blood and soft tissue tests, he was admitted to the hospital for further examination, and soon I was given the dreadful diagnosis: ACUTE LYMPHOBLASTIC LEUKEMIA.
I listened to the doctor through tears, barely grasping the gist of it. I asked several times if there were any other methods to confirm the diagnosis. But the hematologist didn't hesitate, which made things even more frightening.
I looked at my sleeping son and wondered how my active and positive child could have become so seriously ill?! We had so many plans ahead of us, — a whole life! I struggled to compose myself, because tears won't help grief.
Denis is currently undergoing chemotherapy, with more to come. The treatment is affecting his health. — He has constant abdominal pain, difficulty getting out of the hospital bed, and swelling in his arms and legs. The test results aren't encouraging yet. The attending physician says he might need a bone marrow transplant.
The treatment is very expensive. We tried to raise money for it ourselves. Friends and family helped as much as they could. I had to leave my job because my son requires 24/7 monitoring and care.
We are asking all caring people to help us raise the necessary funds for treatment. We sincerely hope and believe that we will win this fight against this disease.
"May our children be healthy." — This isn't just a wish, it's anything but trivial. After all, when a child is diagnosed with cancer, nothing matters except the fight for their recovery.
Sincerely, Natalia.
For ways to help, see here.
